You assume that all young people are going to have unrewarding, crappy jobs in food service, retail, or other typical college worker industries, but that's just not true. It's entirely possible for students to get a job that teaches them about the real world and pays the bills at the same time, without having to do loads of grunt work or give away free labor.

I worked all through college in challenging, well paying jobs while still enjoying the security net that my parents gave me. I learned about real estate, contracts, human resources administration, how to build a web site from scratch, designing in AutoCAD, and perhaps most importantly, the idiosyncrasies of both small business and the corporate world. My work opened my eyes to industries that I had no idea even existed, and probably never would have understood without doing what I did. When I graduated, I had loads of useful, marketable experience under my belt, a nice chunk of savings, and a major leg up on everyone else in my graduating class.

It's irresponsible to recommend that anyone give away labor for free. Being a young person or a student does not mean that you don't have valuable skills that are worth cold hard cash. Presenting yourself in this manner sets you up as a second-class worker who is likely to get grunt work and learn very little from the experience. It is far better to be a "real" employee, excel at your job, and get your hands into everything you possibly can.